Question Should I use all exhaust fans or all intake fans

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Amir12

Mar 19, 2019
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Hello, i have recently made my first pc and wondering what is the best case fan setup, i have the cougar Gemeni T, i have used the three front fan areas for my cpu radiator, so i only have 3 fans for the top and one for the back of the case, i was wondering should i use them all as exhaust fans or intake fans, as many other forums had said that having exhaust and intake fans next to one another wont do much.
Thank you
 
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sometimes intake fan makes a big difference sometimes it dont , in a few cases i tried a front intake fans didnt make any difference at all in some cases temp lowerd by 5/8 c.
if you got good cpu cooling your probably ok just with one rear exhaust fan but another one in top wont hurt.
 
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Amir12 said:
Hello, i have recently made my first pc and wondering what is the best case fan setup, i have the cougar Gemeni T, i have used the three front fan areas for my cpu radiator, so i only have 3 fans for the top and one for the back of the case, i was wondering should i use them all as exhaust fans or intake fans, as many other forums had said that having exhaust and intake fans next to one another wont do much.
Thank you
Click to expand...

I have same case as you. Cougar gemini T. I think this case have a bad air flow. I tried every posible intake and exhaust, but always gave me a bad temp. Now, i using side as intake + 240mm aio, no fans in the front, 3 fans on top and 1 in the rear as exhaust.

Maybe i will change side intake to exhaust. I think it will be the best temp, but got all fans as exhaust and no intake. Bad side, must clean the setup every month because the dust.

What about yours?
 
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Warm air naturally rises, so your CPU cooler would be recommended top of case if a 3x120.

Front generally intake as this usually faces out into the open room and has the best access (usually) to cooler air. Also provides positive pressure to get air further back in case instead of up and out top. Your VRMs are usually mounted closer to the back of the case. These need airflow too.

Rear usually exhaust, as your PSU is generally exhausting here as well. You do not want to recirculate warm air.
 
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Sorry cherry, but no.

The Gemini T only fits a 360mm radiator in front, even though it has capacity for 3x120mm fans on top. (ppl tend to forget about the rads end caps).

Cfm is cfm. Doesn't magically disappear jyst because it goes through a radiator, it went through. So front intake with a rad is no worries. Rads do not cool cpu temps. They cool coolant temps which are equitable or slightly above case ambient temps. You'd have to really push a cpu hard to get the coolant beyond 40°C. And with a decent sized gpu, your case temps will be approaching 40°C anyways, so you aren't really dumping hot air into the case.

Front rad fans as intakes. If the fans are normally below @ 1200rpm, pull is better, if 1500+ then push is better. Assuming they aren't a/rgb in which case you are stuck for push.

This leaves top fans and rear fan as exhaust. All of them.

@Croma

Try side aio as exhaust, no rear fan, 3x top fans as intake. Or side aio as exhaust, rear as exhaust, 3x front fans as intake. Block off the top slots. Tune intake fans to respond to cpu temps, not system temps or the aio fans will pull more air than the intakes provide at high loads/temps.
 
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Croma said:
I have same case as you. Cougar gemini T. I think this case have a bad air flow. I tried every posible intake and exhaust, but always gave me a bad temp. Now, i using side as intake + 240mm aio, no fans in the front, 3 fans on top and 1 in the rear as exhaust.

Maybe i will change side intake to exhaust. I think it will be the best temp, but got all fans as exhaust and no intake. Bad side, must clean the setup every month because the dust.

What about yours?
Click to expand...
Yea the airflow is not the greatest, but I made mine work very well, and the heating is not that much of an issue anymore. For the fan system i made the front three fans intakes, plus the radiator on top of them, and then the top three and the on the back outtakes that's what worked best for me. You should try putting a fan curve on your GPU fans as well, that helps a lot.
 
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No worries. 😊

Big things are made up of many small things and the obvious often has several causes that add up, not just one glaring fault. A 2°C loss in temp control might seem like a small thing, but when factored over 6 fans, airflow fighting directions and circulatory patterns, that'll easily add up to 10-12°C, which just further complicates matters.

Airflow doesn't need to be a gale force wind inside the case, all it needs to do is one thing. Bring in cooler ambient air and dump the hotter case air out in a smooth motion. A normally setup pc will bring air in the front and out the back/top in one smooth flow, having side mounted fans is a complication, either fighting the flow or splitting it.

With a side mount exhaust, right next to front intakes, the intakes need to be always overpowering the exhausts, so that at least some air makes it into the case. Can't rely on 3 fans vrs 2, you'll need much higher cfm and the static pressure to force that cfm past the exhausts draw. It's a fine balance. A single exhaust at back, and covered top ports creates enough low pressure area to help that influx of intake air, which drags with it gpu heat collected up top. 2x fans, one rear and one top rear would be better, higher draw. Having all 3 top isn't ideal as they are too far forward making it hard to get airflow at the back of the case, leaving a hotspot at the gpu.

Many of the newer case designs are more about aesthetics and far less about function, doesn't make it easy on builders who want their cake and eat it too. If you want a particular look, you might have to deal with less than ideal functionality as a result.
 
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Karadjgne said:
Sorry cherry, but no.

The Gemini T only fits a 360mm radiator in front, even though it has capacity for 3x120mm fans on top. (ppl tend to forget about the rads end caps).

Cfm is cfm. Doesn't magically disappear jyst because it goes through a radiator, it went through. So front intake with a rad is no worries. Rads do not cool cpu temps. They cool coolant temps which are equitable or slightly above case ambient temps. You'd have to really push a cpu hard to get the coolant beyond 40°C. And with a decent sized gpu, your case temps will be approaching 40°C anyways, so you aren't really dumping hot air into the case.

Front rad fans as intakes. If the fans are normally below @ 1200rpm, pull is better, if 1500+ then push is better. Assuming they aren't a/rgb in which case you are stuck for push.

This leaves top fans and rear fan as exhaust. All of them.

@Croma

Try side aio as exhaust, no rear fan, 3x top fans as intake. Or side aio as exhaust, rear as exhaust, 3x front fans as intake. Block off the top slots. Tune intake fans to respond to cpu temps, not system temps or the aio fans will pull more air than the intakes provide at high loads/temps.
Click to expand...

okay, i will try first one. but it's okay to make top slots as intake?
can't do about second. because if i place a aio on the side, front can't mount a fans. you must chose either front or side.

my system temp: (side intake with aio 240mm, 3x top exhaust, rear exhaust)

CPU Ryzen 2700x : 83.1°C (Prime 95, small FFTs for 15 minute)

GPU Gigabyte RTX 2070 Aorus Xtreme : 79°C (FurMark 15 minute)

All stock. is this normal?

Sorry for my bad english..
 
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